Nahr
/nɑːr/noun
An Arabic term for a river or major watercourse, used in English mainly in Middle Eastern geography and place names.
Did you know?The Arabic word nahr is cognate with Hebrew nahar, the word used in the Bible for a river or flowing waterway, including the Euphrates.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*nahr-
“River or flowing waterway”
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
nāru
“River; a major watercourse, especially in Mesopotamian records”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
nāhār
“River or stream”
Classical Syriac
Aramaic
nehrā
“River”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
nahr
“River or flowing watercourse”
Modern English
English
nahr
“An Arabic geographical term for a river, particularly in the Middle East”